Dead ? buried but still above ground
by Daggers hurt
Summary: Finally it is complete. so roll up and then click the very nice button at the bottom the one with review on it yes cant you hear it calling click me, click me! next sequel not posted until i get 60 reiew so get tapping.
1. Burial

_I understand why you always seemed so serious you lost everything you loved, you parents your uncle. I had no idea that you hurt so badly. The emptiness and pain you feel when the only person you have ever truly loved is snatched from your grasp. You know that they are gone and will never come back no matter how hard you wish, no matter how much you loved them, they will never be there again…And as time goes on, his smile, his face, everything begins to fade, till all you're left with is bitter sadness. Raw emotion fills your every waking thought and action, takes over your soul, your very being. You can no longer love, only hate, and sadness is your fuel, and you know that they will always be there with you, even though he's not._

Jack Starbright picked up the black suit hanging on the door, her eyes were red raw and had dark bags under them, a stark reminder of the sleepless nights she had spent crying. A week ago she would have hummed as she got dressed but at the moment Jack wasn't in the mood for humming, to her it felt like he never would be again. Instead, she stood stock-still her eyes glazed over, she wasn't thinking about anything, that hurt too much, she just didn't have anything to do. A car horn pulled her from her nothingness. She climbed into the taxi. "Where to?" Asked the driver, his rough London accentgrating as he spoke. "The cemetery" Jack's voice was hoarse but the cab driver didn't notice that or the tears just squeezing out of the corner of her eyes, he was concentrating on weaving through the weekday traffic.

Jack stood at the side of the grave watching as the coffin was lowered. There were only four other people there, the priest in his robes, a women busy sucking on a peppermint and a neat gentleman dressed in a pin stripe suit, The man looked more as if he was a manager of a bank than someone at a funeral. The final mourner was a young girl, probably around 14. Jack knew her as Sabina Pleasure, Alex had gone on holiday with her and her family once. She thought back to the man and women in suits: although Jack had never seen the two official looking people before she had a good idea who they were and a surge of anger rushed through her. They were responsible for his! The gold plate on top of the coffin glinted in the sun. Jack read the words even though she knew what they said.

**Alex Rider.**

**He was loved by many.**

**May he rest in peace.**

Now the tears flowed freely, making tracks down her cheeks, had she told Alex how much she loved him. Did he know? How she wished that she could have held his hand, kissed his forehead, said goodbye to him properly. There was no chance of that now. He was gone!

"We therefore commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life" The priest's words washed over her. She was drowning in them. She didn't want to let him go! There was a thud as the first handful of soil was thrown into the grave. Jack could stand it no longer, she began to run. Nowhere in particular. Just running, anywhere as long as it was somewhere without pain!

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Alex sat in his hotel room, thinking. Right now Jack would be at his funeral, mourning for him. Mourning for someone that wasn't dead. Alex hated dong this to her but Mrs Jones had told him that it was for the best.


	2. defeat is a terrible thing

**Chapter two**

Scorpia wanted him dead! They knew that much. That was why Alex Rider no longer officially existed. It felt weird to Alex, all his friends, Tom, Jack, everyone from his school, all thought that he was dead. But he wasn't.

Sure the bullet had hit him but Alex had been wearing the Kevlar body armour Smithers had supplied with the bike. As the saying goes "being prepared doesn't kill people, being unprepared does!" Alex wasn't taking any chances that day. The power of the bullet fired from the self-loading Ruger .22 model K10/22-T had broke three of the ribs protecting his heart but Alex had been lucky. The ribs hadn't punctured any vital organs. It had been a week since he had been shot leaving the Royal and General. Now he had been ordered to stay in his hotel, what he needed was a good dose of Rest and Recuperation.

Unfortunately MI6 had different ideas. The minute his spy edition mobile rang he knew who it was. After all they were the only ones who knew he was still alive. Alex considered leaving the phone, right now he wasn't in the mood, but MI6 were not the type of people to give up easily. "Yes?" He said eventually, his voice showing his hatred for the person on the other end of the phone. "Hello, Alex, it's Mrs Jones. We need you to come to the Bank as soon as possible. We'll send a car, be ready in five minutes."

"But…" BEEP. Before Alex had time to protest Mrs Jones had put the phone down on him.

"Alex, I am so glad you came." Mrs Jones said her peppermint breath pouring over Alex.

"You didn't give me much choice!"

"Yes, I am sorry about that but anyway why don't we go in" She led Alex into Mr Blunt's office even though Alex knew the way with his eyes closed. The sight that welcomed him was not what he expected. There was no Mr Blunt I his trademark Pin-stripe suit. Instead a man with greasy slicked back hair and a long protruding noise sat at the desk. "Ah, you must be Alex, take a seat" The man's voice dripped like poison honey and his dark hazel-hawk eyes scanned Alex finally resting on his own intertwined fingers.

"Look," Alex broke the silence "I don't care who you are or what your doing here but I am not going to work for any of you ever again. I just want to get on with whatever life I have left!" The stranger didn't look at all surprised at Alex's outburst. In fact he looked as if he was quite expecting it. His mouth split into a thin, mocking smile. "Where exactly are you planning on going Alex? You don't exist! You're dead!" His smile grew even wider and his eyes now twinkled with laugher. "Or had you forget?"

The truth finally hit home. One sentence kept on replaying itself, over and over again. You're dead. DEAD!

This aggravating man was right. Where could he go? Jack was going back to her parents and he could hardly turn up at Tom' front door expecting to be taken in. Alex needed the MI6 just as much as they needed him. Once again he had been left with no choice.

"Alright, what do you want?" Alex had been defeated.

A/N PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW. Especially if you liked it! Thanks for reading. Hope to update soon.

From Me.

(Hope)


	3. Betrayal

**Chapter 3**

**Betrayal**

"Two questions: Who are you and where's Mr Blunt?" Alex had been sent back to the hotel for the night after the annoying man had received a phone call and yet he was still as angry as he was the day before. "My name is Mr Cold…"

"Suits you!" Sneered Alex.

"…And Mr Blunt is the reason why you are here! He has been captured by Scorpia. They have demanded a ransom. They want you Alex and we plan to give them what they want." Mr Cold carried onto ignoring Alex's comment but by now Alex was furious. His anger erupted from him like lava from a volcano. "You mean you're just going to hand me over to the people that want me dead!" Screamed Alex, launching himself at Mr Cold's tie clad throat. "Do you realise how much I have risked for MI6? And what do I get back? DEATH! If you hadn't barged your way into my life I would still have a family, friends. I would have a life! As far as Scorpia are concerned I am dead and buried. Or had you forgotten?" Alex had never been so angry in his life. He had never felt so worthless and used either.

"If you let go of me I will explain…That's better. Now, we have recently found out that someone was working as a spy in the MI6. In fact, it was only last night when we identified the traitor."

"Who?" demanded Alex, still fuming.

"Mrs Jones." Those two words made the whole of Alex's world shatter into tiny pieces. Now he truly had nothing left. Despite the fact that she had been a member of MI6 (or at least pretended to be one) Alex had seen her as a mother and now all he could see her as was a traitor. As he looked around it was only now that he noticed her unusual absence.

"Alex? You didn't really think we would hand you over without a fight did you? We will give you all the resources and information we have. That is if you decide to go ahead with this operation." for once the tempory head of MI6 seemed unsure of himself. It was almost as if he could finally see the pain Alex had tried o keep hidden for most of life and had suddenly thawed out. Alex didn't reply. At the moment he didn't feel able. He was empty, a body with no soul. A boy with nothing left and nothing to loose.

"I suppose you want me to rescue Blunt?" Alex asked, he had made his choice. Choice. A word that seemed to turn up a lot, thought Alex. Invariably due to lack of it. Well, this time he had a choice and whether he had made the right one was another matter, all Alex knew was that he was going to fight Scorpia to the end. Whether it be his end or theirs!

A/N please review it keeps me happy and being happy means I write.


	4. Gadget time it just has to be done

**Chapter Four**

**Gadgets**

Alex was on his way to Smithers. He felt slightly better, his mind now occupied with thoughts of the revenge he would reap on Scorpia. Revenge was a terrible thing, Alex knew that that, it clouds the mind and causes people to do all sorts of irrational things. But Scorpia had caused so much Pain, Pain in Alex, Pain in the people he knew, Pain in the world! Surely, they must be punished.

Alex was pulled from his thoughts when he reached Smithers office; the 'large' man wobbled towards him and grabbed Alex into an extremely big, squishy embrace. "I heard the shot; I thought you were dead Alex. There was so much blood and they wouldn't let me come and see you in the hospital. The next thing I knew Mr Blunt was going to your funeral. They didn't tell me it was a fake. I suppose Alan is the reason you're here. I told them; don't you think that boy has been in enough danger already? But would they listen? Anyway follow me." Smithers waved a podgey hand and lead the way into his office; the desks were cluttered with all sorts of gadgets. "Do realise this was probably the hardest assignment I've ever been given. They are sure to search you and so all we can get away with a small collection of communication devices. Contacts, allowing us to see what you're seeing. Also thermal vision, maps of area and positions of guards when available. Fake tooth, so we can hear what's going on and you can hear what we are saying. Clever that, it works on vibrations. Even has an in-built tracker." Smithers held up an extremely genuine looking tooth "Self-adhesive just stick it in, it was made especially for you, fits in the gap on he right hand side. That's it, right there!" Alex found that the tooth stuck in quite comfortably and didn't wobble at all, even when he poked it with his tongue. Next he opened his eye wide and placed in the two contacts. His eyes began to water but after a while they stopped ad he was barely able to notice them. "All you have to do is wink three times; the left eye controls the map and the right the thermal vision. Just wink another three times when you want to turn them off." Alex waited a minute expecting Smithers to introduce him to his next gadget but when nothing seemed to be coming he decided to ask. "Is that it?" Alex didn't mean to sound rude but he didn't think much of his chances if all he had was a tooth and a pair of contacts.

"Damn, I forget to mention the best bit of the contacts. Lasers! Blink with both eyes twice, wink once with your left eye, once with your right eye and hey presto you'll be able to burn through any lock. Just look at it through your left eye." Smithers looked around suspiciously and then dropped is voice to a low mumble "It could also do some damage to people if you were to get close enough, once again Alex it's to do with the eyes. Aim for the eye!" Alex got up and was almost out of the door when Smithers called him back. "I wasn't sure whether to give you his as I suppose it could be classed as a weapon but there is no way I could send you in with nothing. " Smithers spoke in alow whisper, he was riskinghis job for Alex. He handed over a little piece of rubbery skin coloured material, it was clear to Alex that it was meant to go on his finger and so he put it on. He was amazed, if he didn't know it was there he ould't have seen it at all however close he looked. "It contains a high powered electric charge that can knock out or kill an opponent if used on the neck, stunning really; all you have to do is think about it and touch your enemy and ZAP." Smithers fell silent for a minute, his eyes showing the emotion he wasn't going to voice.

"Look Alex, you look after your self because I don't know what I would do if you died. Just be careful, alright? Now go, your car will be waiting!"

**A/N Sorry it has taken me so longto update but have been busy, went on holiday up to london, had SAT'S...Anyway I dont lke this chapter as it is really boring, couldn't think of any good gadgets as scorpia are sure to search him, so if you have any ideas you are willing to give me please do so. Got to go now but just want to say thanks to Jess, Kelsey and E. Nolan (sorry don't know your first name) for reviewing me. bye.**


	5. The Bridge

**Chapter Five**

**The Bridge**

"Alex, are you ready for his?" The voice came through the tooth and only Alex could here it. It was really an ingenious invention but right now Alex didn't have time to think about that, he was about to be handed over to Scorpia. He looked out of the car window and watched as the bright lights of the city got further and further away. Scorpia had insisted that the change over be made on Albert Bridge, the bridge where Alex's father had walked. Alex supposed it was some sick sort of irony, even back then Mrs Jones had probably been working for Scorpia, the Albert Bridge incident with John Rider had been her first assignment. As the two cars pulled up, the first containing Mr Cold, Alex's mind was all over the place. Bridges were supposed to be neutral but this time it seemed as if Scorpia had decided to keep it as their own!

Once again MI6 were assembled on the North side of the bridge and on the South Alex could see two cars and a truck, seven people stood, machine guns just visible in the half light. This time Scorpia had come prepared.

It was time. The first chime of midnight broke through the silence and the air trembled as if in the expectation of something terrible. Alex began to walk the seemingly endless distance to the other side of the bridge. DONG. The sound of his own heart resonated in his ears, rapidly getting quicker. DONG. His footsteps sounded hollow on the concrete of the bridge. DONG. Alex looked up, at the other side of the bridge a figure was walking towards him, his hands tied behind his back. DONG. As the figure got closer Alex could see Mr Blunt's grey features. DONG. His suit looked less business like than usual and his hair was greasy and knotted. DONG. They were almost about to meet. DONG. "Alex? What are you doing here?" DONG. "Saving you" DONG. And they had passed each other. They both carried on walking; the faces of the people waiting on the other side of the bridge grew clearer. DONG. Alex watched as one of the men raised his gun. DONG. He pulled the trigger.

For Alex the twelfth chime never came, instead he felt the dart embed itself in his leg and then he felt no more. He watched as the sky above him began to fade, the stars began to dim. He knew he wasn't dead but he felt as if he might as well be. He didn't have any chance of getting out of this mess. Something Mrs Jones had said to him surfaced.

"_You had a choice Alex, but you went in for exactly the same reasons your father went to Albert Bridge. That's what makes you such a great spy. It isn't that you were made one or trained to be one. It's just that in your heart you are one. I suppose it runs in the family."_

Everything that Mrs Jones had said was probably false but Alex decided one thing as he thought about her. Scorpia had killed his parents, and however much he was like his father, he wasn't going to let Scorpia kill him. And then everything went black…

**A/N Hi again, it's me. Hope you enjoyed it. Please review as am still stuck for ideas. Hope to update soon. **

**By the way I would like to know if you would like Alex to die at the end of this story. Please include this in your review (that's if you review me)**


	6. Torture

**Chapter 6**

**Torture**

Alex awoke his whole body burning and his lungs gasping for air. As his eyes began to swim into focus he saw a man stood in front of him, a huge grin on his face. "Thought I'd give you a hand waking up Alex, you're pretty boring unconscious." Alex's head throbbed as he remembered what had happened on the bridge. They had shot him.

He looked around, trying to take in everything about the room he was in; he needed to if he was going to escape. It was quite a large room, with steel plated walls and floors. He couldn't see a door. Alex tried to move his head but found that he couldn't, not due to any restraints though. He began to panic, what was going on? "The effects of the dart haven't worn off yet, obviously, but don't worry when they do you won't be going anywhere." The man stared into Alex's eyes for a moment and Alex, unable to look away, felt a chill run down his spine. His eyes were grey and emotionless, showing only an arrogant mocking. Alex hated this man already. "Guards, put him on the slab and strap him in tight. He's not going to get away!" Two men dressed in a grey uniform came into Alex's view and, one holding his arms and the other his legs, carried him over to a sheet cold steel raised about six foot off the floor. He lay helpless as the two men closed heavy locks around his ankles, waist, chest, wrists and forehead. The guards left but the restraints began getting tighter and tighter, almost causing Alex to loose consciousness again as the straps pushed against his broken ribs. "That's enough. I must warn you Alex if you move the restraints will get tighter, gradually breaking every bone in your body. If you do not do what we ask of you then we will tighten the straps or bearing in mind you are lying on a very good conductor of electricity and heat… I think you can probably imagine the rest."

Alex had been left on his own. The two guards and the strange man had left, plunging Alex into darkness behind them. There had been a large clunk as the heavy steel door was locked; they really did want Alex to stay! Before the bridge, he had planned everything, he had been confident but now, strapped down in this steel box he could see no route of escape. "Alex? Can you hear me? Are you alright?" Smither's voice reverberated inside Alex's head. At first, he ignored it thinking it was just his mind playing tricks with him but then he realised…. The tooth. "Yeah, I'm just tied up in some freaking dungeon, with some freaking weird guy who obviously wants me dead. Oh, and I forgot, theres no freaking way out!" Alex hissed, except he didn't use the word freaking. "Don't worry we'll find a way to get you out of there." Smither's words did nothing to reassure Alex and he knew why. The truth finally hit him. He felt so stupid, so naïve. "None of you had any intention of getting me out of here did you? As long as Blunt was safe! You knew when you sent me in that here was no way of me getting back out." His voice wavered and finally broke. Slowly he felt something rise from the bottom of his stomach, a tension that threatened to squeeze the breath from his lungs and crush his heart. For the first time in his life sobs wracked his body. This was it this was the end. Everybody he had loved, everyone he had trusted had either gone or betrayed him. Now, all that awaited him was death! After a while he found an inner piece, he had never felt before, as he bid farewell to his future. "Alex, I'm sorry. If it's any consolation I never wanted them to send you in there." Alex said nothing. There wasn't anything left to say!

A/N Review or else!

And next week on Dead? Buried but still above ground…

….Alex is visited by somebody he thought was long dead…


	7. A reunion of sorts

**Chapter Seven**

**A reunion of sorts**

Alex guessed it must have been about three hours later when the tears stopped flowing down his cheeks and he was flooded in light. He forced his head against the straps that held him down, only to find that they tightened jerking his head back and banging it against the cold steel. But not before he got a glimpse of the person coming through the door.

A slim woman, somewhere in her mid thirties was strutting in on long stiletto heels. Her short skirt and revealing blouse showing perfectly tanned skin that blended in with her long fair hair. However, it was none of these things that made Alex's heart miss a beat. It was her shocking brown eyes, the exact colour of his own extremely unusual eyes. Eyes that seemed to hold the world and all its worries yet never show any emotion.

Alex knew straight away who this woman was, but his brain refused to admit it. It couldn't be she was dead. She had been murdered by scorpia. The woman walked over, her heels tapping on the hard floor. She leaned over the block where Alex was tied up, the metal locks digging into his flesh. Alex stared into the cold eyes of his mother, Helen Rider. "Hello Alex."

Dum Dum Dum… soz it's so short but I am really busy at the moment as I have just adopted a quail (little birdie thing) much to my mom's displeasure. And right know it has decided to go for a flap round the garden with my dog chasing after it.

P.S thanks to Katie Gilpin for the idea about bringing back Alex' parents it sparked off the ideas of where to go next.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**An Explanation**

"It was pretty ironic really, your father was working as a spy for MI6 and I a spy for Scorpia and yet we both thought we worked for the same side. Good. We had you, not that I wanted a kid but I had to to keep my cover, and then there was the whole Albert bridge incident. Mi6 tried to fool us all by staging your father's death. But I found out that John Rider was alive, he had been double-crossing me and I decided to teach him and MI6 a lesson. I staged our deaths, ad quite extraordinarily I must admit. Even now they don't suspect a thing. Even though they never found either of the bodies." Helen Rider stopped talking, a malicious grin filling her face and showing Alex just how proud she was of herself. However Alex didn't notice. He was to busy replaying a part of what she had just said over and over again in his head. _I staged our deaths. Our_. His father hadn't been killed in the plane crash either. He might still be alive now. Hell, he could be in the same building as him right now. An ember flared somewhere in his heart. Just a hope that there might be someone left. Someone that loved him, someone who was still the same person he had always been. No longer was Alex resigned to death, if John Rider was alive Alex was going to find him and rescue him.

Alex rolled is eyes, trying to see as much of the room as possible. He could see no guards but to be sure he winked three times with his left eye. He was amazed when a map appeared in his vision. It was clear but showed the room and around it. In the centre was a green dot. Alex presumed this dot was him. To the left was a red do his mother, and two more outside the door, probably guards. It was possible. Alex's plan might just work. He remembered smithers voice _"Lasers! It could do some damage to people if you were to get close enough, once again Alex it's to do with the eyes. Aim for the eye!" _Alex blinked with both eyes twice, winked once with his left eye and looked up into the woman's eyes. He couldn't do it! All it would take would be one wink and he could be free. But this wasn't any woman he was about to blind or maybe even kill. As much as he wished she wasn't, the woman was his mother and there was no way he could hurt her. After all she had done and said, he still loved her. Alex dropped his eyes no longer able to look into Helen Riders eyes. "You're planning something! Aren't you?" Alex said nothing "Look at me!" Alex didn't move he kept his eyes staring past her at a point in the ceiling. A second later he regretted it, as his mother slapped him round the face, leaving his cheek throbbing and burning. And yet he still didn't look up. "Fine! Have it your way. It won't take long to teach you respect of your elders. Guards!" The two guards from outside the door marched in to the room, two sawn of shot-guns held in front of them. "I think it's time to teach our guest a lesson! I trust I can leave you to it." And with that she strutted towards the door but before she left she spun round. "And if I was you I would blindfold him!"

Alex was helpless as one of the guards tied a rag tightly round his eyes. There was no way he could blink now, he realised as he felt the cloth force his eyelids closed. Alex gritted his teeth. He knew what was coming next. Sure enough, there was a hissing as a blow torch was turned on and a minute later Alex felt a burning poker run down his left side. He writhed around in the excruciating pain, only causing the manacles trapping him down to tighten even more, crushing the air out of his lungs. And yet they still didn't stop contracting! There was a bone tingling crack and Alex felt his wrists snap. He screamed in agony and was thankful when black spots began to cloud his vision. Unconsciousness would be a welcome break from the pain.

**A/N Sorry I feel terrible torturing Alex like this (well alright I don't) but it ha to be done. Also sorry it's taken me so long to update I didn't have any ideas. Anyway, Hope you enjoyed it. Please R and R.**


	9. Dreaming

**Chapter nine**

**Am I dreaming?**

Alex awoke to his father's voice." I'm dead. I'm in heaven" Thought Alex but the excruciating pain brought down to Earth and made him realise he was definitely alive. It was for how much longer that was questionable. "Alex you're awake. I can't believe it! My son alive and with me!" Slowly Alex peeled open his eyes and allowed them to react to the dim lighting. As his vision improved he could see the outline of a man bent over him, his head partially blocking the light of a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling above him. There was no doubt about it, as Alex looked into the man's eyes he knew that despite the matted hair and spiky stubble, he was staring at John Rider, his father! "They wouldn't give you any painkillers but at least they bandaged your wrists up well. I had a look at them while you were unconscious; the breaks are not compound at last. They will heal in time." He smiled as he spoke but his eyes showed the questions he was bursting to ask. "Alex, how did you get here?" Alex tried to reply but his mouth wouldn't move and his head felt as if someone was bashing it with a mallet. He couldn't think, how did he get here? For a start where was here? He couldn't remember a thing; pain clouded his mind and it impossible to search his memory. All he knew was that he was with his father and that somehow he would make everything alright. His eyes were so heavy and the blackness of unconsciousness looked so enticing. He let go of everything and let his mind turn blank… His last thought was a question. _Can my father possibly be real? Or is he just a hallucination?_

"You let a fourteen year old boy give his life for mine! What were you thinking?" Alan Blunt was pacing across his office at the royal and general bank while Mr Cold sat on the chocolate brown leather sofa in the corner.

"Alan, you know we had no choice. It was the boy or you?" Cold's voice showed no regret that he had probably just sent a young boy to his death.

"I would rather be dead than have to live my life knowing my existence on this planet is only thanks to the sacrifice of a teenager. No, my brother, this time you made the wrong decision! By now they will have killed Alex, they wanted him for revenge we betrayed them by sending in John as an undercover agent and so this is a way of proving to us not to mess around with them. I suppose it's pretty ironic, John Rider tr5ying to save the world and instead getting him and his own son killed!" At that moment the door to the office burst open and Smithers large form squeezed itself through.

"Um, begging your pardon Mr Blunt Sir, but I thought you would want to know about this. Do you know the radio receiver and transmitter we hid on Alex as a tooth well we have just received a conversation through it. As far as we can make out Alex is still alive but so are John and Helen Rider. Now the shocking thing is that Helen seems to be working for Scorpia. I mean we can't be certain, the signal is absolutely terrible on these things but we are pretty sure it was them." Smithers rushed speech was received with quite a bit of confusion from Blunt.

"You mean John is working for Scorpia too?" he asked.

"Yeah, it seems that way but we only aught a couple of words from him before we lost the connection completely."

"Have you tried talking to Alex?"

Smithers looked shocked. "Of course I have but he is unconscious it seems he has been injured quite badly, we didn't hear him say anything but John was talking to him so we presume he was alive!"

"Thank you Smithers, if you could keep us updated and try to regain communication with Alex." Smithers took the hint and closed the door behind him. As he walked back down to his lab Alex's last words echoed in his head _"None of you had any intention of getting me out of here did you? As long as Blunt was safe! You knew when you sent me in that here was no way of me getting back out." _Smithers was going to get Alex out and he had a bone to pick with John.


	10. A Darkened Past

**Chapter Ten**

**A darkened past**

Helen Rider sat on her bed and cried. She hadn't bet on feeling an emotion so strong. Almost 13 years ago she had let go of Alex but now, after seeing him again, all the feelings she had felt at the beginning had come back like a raging rapid. For the first time in over twenty years she put her hands together, bowed her head and began to pray. "Dear God, please listen to me and give me the strength I need to carry out the deeds that must be done." _Stupid girl, god will not give you the strength to murder someone. Only I can do that, give up now, come to me. I will help you._ Once again, the voice that had haunted her mind since she was a child. Calling her, calling her always! _Join me, come with me. It is me that you want. _It was that voice, so deep and mysterious, that had caused her to do the terrible things she had done. The things that had made her become a member of Scorpia, the dreaded terrorist organisation.

In her mind, she was pulled back to that awful time as a child. She curled up in a corner, her hands were wet and sticky but the room was so dark that she couldn't see what it was that coated her tiny fingers. The darkness crawled across her body. Soft fur brush against her soft skin, wiping away the tears that carved tracks in her rosy cheeks. She knew vaguely what she had done and it scared her, the fear pouncing on her like a tiger pouncing on its prey, gripping her every muscle. Now she listened, her well-tuned ears picking up the creak of the floorboards upstairs, the soft murmur of talking outside, footsteps coming closer in the dark. The door squeaked as someone turned the door handle. She was blinded as the door swung pen but slowly she regained her sight only to look down at her hands. Blood! Blood so dark against her pale skin, it was almost black! The blood of her parents!

Helen Rider was back in the real world but salty tears still poured, trying to cleanse a heart that was past redemption. That fearful night had been the start, the start of long path that the child had no choice but follow, a path that only lead to evil. A final destination that Helen had almost reached. After she had murdered her parents she had been sent to a home. It had been a terrible time and if anything had only made her journey quicker. Each day she had been teased for her pale skin and almost vampirish appearance, by one boy in particular, Garth. He wasn't perfect himself, large and almost certainly overweight with a voice that dripped like poison honey. Helen, now a teenager had been forced to retaliate in the only way she knew. Violence. The social workers had found Garth dead one morning, a message burnt into his skin. "If an ugly duckling can change into a swan so will I but just remember swans will bite if you make them!"

She had been right; by the age of twenty she had fair hair, tanned skin and a perfect figure. She was beautiful, but as much as the outside changed the inside never could! Her heart belonged in darkness, all that could be hoped that for the sake of Alex it would come out into the light just the once! _Forget it you are mine! God will not want you!_

**A/N Sorry about this chapter I really don't know what it is for or about it just seemed fitting to describe a bit about her as we never find out much in the Alex Rider books and describe hw she became evil enough to torture her own son. Please review!**


	11. Getting to know you

**Chapter Eleven**

**Making up for missed time**

Alex had been betrayed by everyone he knew, even his mother, he had been tortured and Scorpia were about to kill him and yet he felt the happiest and calmest he ever had. He had got to spend some time with his father, the one person that he could rely on to be there for him as long as it was possible. No-one could possibly understand how Alex felt as he sat next to John Rider, he couldn't feel the pain coursing through his body, it was him and his dad and that was all that was all that mattered to him!

Alex had missed out on so much never knowing his father, having to listen to all the lies everyone wanted him to believe but now things were changing, he was getting to know the truth, getting to know the parent he had never had.

As soon as he had gained consciousness the two had talked continually. About small things at first, football, John had wanted to know who was at the top of the league table and Alex happy to tell him about it. But soon their conversations had begun to progress. How are you getting on at school? Until they finally got on to the subject they knew would come around sooner or later.

"Ian should be looking after you, that was the arrangement; if anything happened to me your uncle would become your legal guardian. I know that he would never back out of our agreement and if he was looking after you, you wouldn't be here. You were not to get involved with MI6! What has happened to him, Alex?" Of course, John Rider knew what the answer would be, it was inevitable in the spy business for your time to come too early, he was just looking for confirmation. He soon got it.

"He's dead, that's how I started working for MI6, I didn't believe the story they gave me about a simple car accident, they said he wasn't wearing a seatbelt but I knew that wasn't true. If there was one thing he was obsessed about it was safety, he was always reminding me to put my seatbelt on. I started to find out the truth, it wasn't that difficult to find his car, I saw the bullets in the metalwork on the driver's side, the burst tyre and cracked windscreen and I knew it hadn't been any crash. The next day I was asked to go to the royal and general, I broke into Ian's office, from then on I knew he had been no banker. "Alex paused for a moment, his heart pounding. He had got carried away as he relived the days that had changed him forever, the days that had put him on a path that was about to get him killed. "Ian trained me well and I suppose Blunt just couldn't let a bargain pass him by. They used me, Dad!" _Dad, _It sounded unnatural coming from his mouth, he had never called anyone dad and to start after fourteen was something that would take some time to get used to.

Later, when Alex had fallen asleep, his head resting on his father's lap, John still lay awake thinking. There had been seven brothers, their mother had always laughed that she was well blessed having to look after six boys. A smile snuck across John's face as he thought about his mother, running around after the seven children as the pushed each other and bounced up and down on the big double bed. It was amazing that she had any amount of control over her children at all, even as kids they had pretended to be spies, fighting over who got to be James Bond, whether they worked for MI6 or the FBI, they had wreaked havoc and yet she had still loved them all.

And then they had all grown up and become real spies working for MI6, they had always been known as the secret seven but now after Ian's death there were only three left, three brothers united by blood but, after what Alex had been saying, not in nature.

They had all changed their surnames when they joined MI6, only two keeping the original name of rider; it was safer that way. Family can be used against you in the spy business. It had been funny when the bothers had chosen the new surnames for each other; they had made the names portray their personalities. It had made them all sound like the seven dwarfs. John made a mental list of the brother's names, laughing inside as he thought of them, and all the great times they had spent together.

Kevin Disorg – Disorganised, they had had to shorten it slightly you could hardly have a surname like disorganized could you. They had laughed at how he would have to ask an opponent to wait while he found his gun.

Matthew Smile – He had been the optimist of the seven, always happy and willing to do anything to help someone. He had made a funny spy, always seeing the best in people, always giving them another chance.

Nick Merchant – The joker, the wind-up_-merchant_. The tricks he had played, especially on Alan. Once Nick had made a mini vandegraaf machine from a portable fan which he had placed in his backpack and had shocked anyone he touched. That had been his other talent, he was forever creating new inventions or hacking into computers, anything electrical or technological and he was excellent at it.

Ian Rider- He had always had a level-headedness about him, always calm no matter what situation he was in. Always trustworthy. That was why John had chosen him to look after Alex but now he had gone just like Kevin, Nick ad Matthew. The true brothers had been parted forever.

And then it came to Alan Blunt and Adam Cold, both named for their lack of emotion and never beat around the bush style. Out of the seven brothers they had been the odd ones out, not easy going and laid back like the others but high-wired and always official, almost clinical. It had bee no surprise when Alan had been made the head of MI6. As the brothers had grown up a barrier had grown between Blunt and Cold and the other brothers. As John thought about the two he felt the anger rise within him like a flame, they had used his son for their own means, had sacrificed Alex so they could live. John made a vow that they would regret their actions but he was not optimistic. First he would need to escape and Alex came before any act of revenge. He needed a plan, thankfully he had had thirteen years to devise one and now thanks to the arrival of Alex it was about time his ideas were put into action.

**A/N Hi sorry it has taken so long to update I have been on holiday and have had to rush this chapter, hence I am not happy with it Not enough action for me and I do not like the descriptions of the brothers it's just that I intend to make them important later in the story. Please review! I'm addicted to the damn tings.**


	12. A dawn appointment

**Chapter Twelve**

**A Dawn Appointment.**

Helen Rider opened her desk draw and lifted the manila folder up to reveal a glock 17, hidden under the pile of paper work. She picked it up, taking with it a supply of extra ammo. She had made up her mind she was going to do this, she had betrayed Alex and now it was time she made up for it. She slipped the glock into the pocket of her jacket and curled her hand round the gun, her index finger on the trigger, and her thumb poised on the safety lock. She knew getting in the cell would be no problem; it was getting in there alone. Even if she managed it the guards would know that something wasn't right. It was like being on big brother, even the walls had eyes! She left her office and strode purposefully towards the room were Alex and his father were being held. No-one got in way but as she turned the corner she saw the two guards stood in front of the door, blocking her entry.

"You can't go in, Steele's in there." Phillip Steele, head of Scorpia after Mrs Rothman was disposed of. _What's he doing here?_ This was bad news; her plan would never work if he was there. Maybe her gun might get some use after all.

"I know that, he has just called asking for me! He needs some help with the kid." The guards seemed unsure but Helen stood there unflinching until finally they stepped aside. _God we need to hire smarter guards, how do they expect him to have any signal from inside a room with walls that could withhold a nuclear explosion! _

Alex was knelt on the floor, his bandaged wrists tied behind his back and attached to his bound ankles. Then just in case, Steele was pointing a gun at him. It looked like Alex wasn't going anyway at the moment. Phillip Steele looked up as the door closed behind her, his eyes twinkled maliciously. "Ah, Mrs Rider I was just telling Alex how much we would hate him to miss his dawn appointment with death!"

A/N Sorry it is so short but I think they all will be from now on. Just to keep you waiting. Muhahahahahaha.


	13. An Appointment fulfilled

"Mr Blunt, sir…Mrs Jones is on hold…she wants to speak to you." The secretary's voice echoed out of the phone.

"What do you mean? Mrs Jones wants to speak to me"

"Well it's definitely her sir; she won't tell me what she wants though." The new secretary sounded worried, he had hard all about the traitor.

"Put her through." Alan was in no mood for playing games, whatever she wanted she better get to it quick. "Alan Blunt, what is it?"

"Alan, I need to talk to you about Alex! I want to help you!" Mr Blunt was surprised, Ms Jones sounded genuinely distressed.

"Go on."

"He's like a son to me, Alan. I tried to deny it all these years, but all he time I was working for Scorpia.

"you said you would give anything to help Alex; prove it! Hand yourself into us and we will discuss it. If you help us save Alex we will give you full immunity from past crimes and you will be free to go."

"We don't have time for that Alan and you know that!"

"Then I am afraid we have no deal! Good day, Mrs Jones."

This time it was her turn for silence but eventually she decided what her answer was to be. She also knew that Blunt wouldn't have put the phone down.

"Alright."

An hour later, a very different Mrs Jones sat handcuffed t a chair in the interrogation room. Two armed guards stood either side of the doorway and opposite her, on the other side a nailed down table, sat Mr Blunt.

Mrs Jones looked Alan over unflinchingly. She registered the tiredness in his eyes and for the first time ever in the twelve years she had worked with him she saw a slight stubble just emerging on his chin. Alan Blunt was going through a harsh time but he looked back his eyes just as harsh. Mrs Jones was wearing a tight fitting pair of jeans and a t-shirt, very different from her usual suit. It was funny but Blunt had never thought of her as having a life outside of MI6 He had always he imagined her with her tight bun and slim fit pencil skirt, even when she was at home. The new side of Mrs Jones had shocked him and he was unsure how to begin with her. He finally decided to just get straight to it.

"Let's get on with this shall we? How can you help us?"

"I know where Alex is and I know how to get us into there. Their holding him in an abandoned research facility, they have upgraded the security a lot and made it almost impossible to get through. Almost! They needed a way to get out easily if they were attached or found, but it works both ways. We can get in through the underground passageway, according to the map I stole it should come out just outside where they are most likely to be holding Alex."

"Do you have this map?"

It was an hour before Blunt had a full SWAT team assembled. They all stood with a machine gun crossing their chest and the best quality equipment available. Kevlar vests enough to stop a shotgun at close range; communication systems better than at NASA, and a belt containing every grenade and tool known to man (and many more!). Blunt himself was leading the recovery operation. In his day he had been a field officer with the SAS, in fact on the best but he had sworn never to go into the field again. Today he was breaking that promise. He signalled to the men to move forward. They were gathered outside a small entrance. It had led into a tunnel and they had sent a small robot in the size of a fly, Smithers latest invention, on a reconnaissance. It came back showing that the tunnel definitely lead into the building where Alex was being held. However they were still very much aware of the possibility of a trap. They had reached the door at the other end of the tunnel, behind it lay a guard room and then Alex. They were so close now but what if they were too late? Blunt jumped as a Smither's voice came through his earpiece as clear as if h was in the room next to him.

"You need to hurry up in there we have just regained contact with Alex for a second. It's not good; they are going to kill him, something to do with a dawn appointment with death! They about to do it now! Qui…"

Blunt never heard the end of what smithers had to say. His last words were drowned out by a gun going off on the other side of the metal door…A scream…And then silence.

No-one spoke, Blunt was too numb to think. The gunshot echoed in his ears. At the Bank in the holding cell a tear slipped from the corner of Mrs Jones eye only to turn into stream of salty tears rolling down her cheeks, she had heard it all projected into the room through a speaker. Smithers sat, frozen his eyes glazed over as he thought of Alex as a young teenager; smiling, excited at being a spy.

But Alex Rider was dead.


	14. a conclusion for everyone

**Chapter 14**

**A conclusion for everyone**

Silence! It echoed, ringing in everyone's ears as they stood there stock-still. And then it shattered, like a mirror shards of glass flying everywhere, as Blunt threw himself at the door. It crashed open sending him flying through into the room beyond. Looking down in horror he saw the pool of dark blood spreading across the steel covered floor. There was too much blood; Alex could never have survived.

"I'm so sorry Alex" Tears began to well up within his eyes. Alex Rider was dead because of him!

"It's alright; I didn't really know my mom that well."

"Alex? But…We heard the shot" Blunt looked up unbelieving. Could he trust his own mind?

"It's me; my mom saved my life!" Alex looked down at the floor, for the first time he realised exactly what had happened. He was about to die…but Helen Rider, his mother, had taken his bullet; not only that she had shot the man that wanted him dead…and now she was dead. His mother was dead! Again! He collapsed onto the floor, his knees drew up under his chin and his arms wrapped tight around his legs. And then the tears began to fall. Slowly at first, welling up in the corner of is eyes, and then faster, until a river of salty prayers rolled down his face.

Why was it that everyone he loved got hurt or killed? Would anybody ever leave him alone to lead a normal life? He had never known his mother and what he thought he had known had been lies but now she was gone he could never find out. She had saved his life! She must have loved him; somewhere inside her she felt something for Alex. That bit of love, no matter how small or how deep it was hidden, was what had kept her sane, kept her alive. One persons love can thwart a thousand evils.

Alex felt a light hand on his shoulder but he didn't look up. "Alex, let's get away from here…Alex, I love you and I'm here for you now! Please!" His father; he was still alive and he loved him. The thought crept through his mind pushing back the darkness. Someone loved him. His father loved him. Alex lifted his head from his knees; his raw eyes scanned the room. The people looking worriedly at him, his father smiling kindly, a smile which didn't reach his eyes, and his mother's body. Her hand still clutching above her heart, her eyes staring at where Alex had stood and her lips; frozen eternally on one world- 'sorry'.

Alex dragged his eyes away. She was gone and there was nothing he could do about it. It was time to return to the real world. Probably a very different life from the one he had left. As he began to walk away, his fathers arm clenched tight around his shoulders, his mind began to relive the last few months.

He had faked his own death, his friends, Jack Starbright; to them all he was dead. And why? Because of Scorpia! Well now they were gone. There leaders were dead and the last of their followers would be rounded up and dealt with. They no longer posed any threat. Alex Rider could live again but would he have a life to go back to. How long had he been gone?

"What's the date?" His question surprised everyone. They had been walking in silence for ten minutes now.

"10th July." A young member of the SWAT team answered but Alex didn't register who had spoken; he had just heard the date. It was over 7 months since his supposed death. People would have moved on, even Jack would have forgotten him.

"She hasn't forgotten you. In fact far from it, she has known all along something was going on. She has been pestering us for months now! She is a very persistent woman." It was Blunt that had spoken. When Alex turned round to face him he saw that he was smiling." We can stop lying now. You can tell her the truth as soon as we get back." Alex walked the rest of the way in an ecstatic silence. Planning what he would tell Jack. When they finally reached the outside a helicopter sat waiting for them. Alex jumped wearily in next to his father, and within seconds was asleep on his shoulder, the lack of slip and the pain all over had caught up with him but it was alright; everything would be fine now!

But it's funny that the second everything seems to be going your way the wind changes and the thing most precious to you blows up in your face. It's one of those facts of life, along withthe one that says you neverappreciate what you've got until it's gone,one that Alex was going to find was only to true!

_The End_

_Sequel coming soon!_

_(Read catch)_

**AUTHORS NOTE**- Alright so it wasn't going to be the end but I decided that it was time I wrapped this one up Thanks to Shadow spy I realised how totally naff my ending was and that once again I had totally written a non existent ending. So it's not an ending. It's a beginning.

**One catch- next sequel doesn't get posted until I get 60 reviews so you better get your fingers tapping those keys guys. Until then!**


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